Return to the Temple of Tiamat (quest)
The Return to the Temple of Tiamat is a quest that was undertaken the by Knights of the Azure Hare and follows directly on from the Gauntlet of Marduk. The Hares were given the quest by Bruce, village chieftain of Dragonfalls, and involved the Hares returning the Temple of Tiamat and killing the red dragon Marduk. Background The Hares had stumbled into the Temple of Tiamat the day before as they escaped from when they suspected to be a dragon. After battling through the gnolls and traps the party was confronted by another adventuring party that had in their possession the Gauntlet of Marduk, which they were intending to use in order to control the red dragon of the same name. After a bloody battle and some assistance from Marduk the Hares defeated the band of adventurers and were granted safe passage out of the temple by the dragon as payment for assisting him in destroying the gauntlet. For a more detailed overview, see the entry for the quest the Gauntlet of Marduk. '' Dragonfalls Emerging into the cold, harsh rain Agrael, Azreal, Perl, Thenalia and Xandar decided to avoid as much of the wild forest as they could in case of Dire Bears, finding and following a narrow path in the hope it would lead them out of the forest. It instead led them to Dragonfalls, a small village surrounded by a wooden pike wall. The village bore the scars of fire, evidence of recent attacks from a large fire-breathing creature, such as a dragon. A quick examination of the settlement showed all the citizens were heading to the village's meeting place: the Dragon's Flask tavern. Choosing to follow the crowd the Hares were stopped at the entrance to the inn by a huge half-orc who identified himself as Drake. The apparent bouncer of the tavern ordered the Hares to leave their weapons at the door. Agrael, stepping forward, showed the rest of the group his talents for diplomacy in getting Drake to see their point of view and allow the party entrance, weapons included. Inside the tavern Xandar and Azreal made their way over to a crowd of villages discussing the attacks while Agrael, Perl and Thenalia headed for the bar. At the bar Agrael learnt that the town had suffered attacks by the dragon Marduk for years, but that the dragon had been silent the past few days. When the bartender told the group that Marduk was a 'cruel and evil beast', Agrael replied in typical Agrael fashion 'he likes cookies!' The bartender than asked about a shaman called Eric, a village hero who had sworn to destroy Marduk after the dragon had killed his wife and children. The party shifted nervously as they told him of Eric's death, leaving out the part they had to play in the shaman's demise. Upon hearing the news the bartender headed for the gathering of villagers and announced Eric's death. As the village mourned the death of their hero the bartender, along with the village chieftain named Bruce, approached the Hares. Seeing as they had survived an encounter with Marduk once, Bruce offered the party the job of killing the dragon. The payment, he promised, would be substantial. Recalling the hoard of gold and treasure they had seen Marduk guarding, it did not take much pleading on Bruce's part for the Hares to accept. Encounters of the Other Sides Aftermath Quest Tally '''Character Kills:' * Creature Kills: * 3 bears * 11 Hobgoblins * 1 Direbear * 1 Red Dragon(Marduk) Traps Disabled/Discovered: * Category:Quests